High school students Lilian Arriaza and Isabella Bentacur Vanegas, both former English Language Learners, were among 13 female Long Island high schoolers recently given the opportunity to attend the LILTA Young Women’s Summer Institute at Stony Brook University as part of a collaboration between the university, Islip’s ENL and World Languages Department, the Long Island Latino Teachers Association and Flutterflies Inc.

During their time at the institute, the two Islip students became familiarized with the college experience as well as careers in the STEAM fields of science, technology, engineering, art and math. Arriaza and Bentacur Vanegas attended numerous workshops and training events tackling subjects such as salary negotiation skills, geology exploration, biometrical engineering, financial aid and writing college admission essays.

“Our English Language Learners deserve equitable and inclusive learning opportunities that will prepare them for college, career readiness and beyond,” said Priscilla Zarate, Islip’s coordinator of ENL and world languages. “By providing these experiences to our students, we are setting them up with pathways for academic success and also helping them bring out those hidden potentials that they may not yet realize they hold within. Through these learning opportunities, our students discovered skills and interests they didn't realize they had, especially in STEAM.”

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